He seemed to be getting away with the thefts until a miscalculation at a North Vancouver grocery store in December 2017.

“An employee walked into the cash room around 5 a.m.,” said spokesperson Sgt. Peter DeVries. “There he was, standing in the dark. Imagine how terrifying that was for her.”

The employee screamed, and Davidson assaulted her before running off.

“The surveillance video made it pretty easy,” said DeVries. “Prolific offenders are really well known to us. We know how they operate, where they tend to commit crimes, and what they look like. One good screengrab can get us a long way towards making a positive ID.”

A judge remanded Davidson until his sentencing hearing in April. He has been in custody since May 2018.